VISION FOR THE FUTURE

THE 2005-2010 STRATEGIC PLAN
(Brief Overview Available Here)

Ursuline Academy’s comprehensive 2005-2010 Strategic Plan provides definitive goals and key objectives to guide the Board of Trustees and the Administration Leadership Team and to ensure that the Academy continues to operate and progress in a way that embraces the school’s Mission and Core Values. Success in achieving these goals and objectives will promote a healthy and vibrant future for Ursuline Academy to the benefit of generations to come. The Board of Trustees and the Administration Leadership Team embrace this plan and are committed to its successful implementation.

The Strategic Plan was created in 2004-2005 through a cohesive, community-wide process that involved more than 300 individuals – parents of both current and past students, faculty, administrators, alumnae, Trustees, and Ursuline Sisters. It is an appropriately ambitious plan equal to the school’s stature and esteemed history, and will position Ursuline Academy for a period of growth. The Strategic Plan is achievable with the continued support of all who believe in the Academy’s Mission and Core Values.

To fund the Strategic Plan, the Academy and its supporters must make a major commitment to build the current endowments. Minimizing tuition increases is an ongoing objective. Therefore, alternative funding sources will be vital to mitigate future tuition increases and fund the need for scholarships, financial aid, and facilities maintenance.

Specifically, the 2005-2010 Strategic Plan includes seven goals with twenty underlying key objectives – each of which is aligned with, and intended to foster, the Academy’s Mission and Core Values. Responsibility for each objective has been assigned to particular persons and/or groups, who, accordingly, have "ownership" over, and are accountable with respect to, the objective(s) assigned to them. Further, the President of the Academy shares ownership in, and is accountable with respect to, each of the individual objectives, and the President’s careful participation in achieving the goals and objectives is required and integral to the success of the Strategic Plan and the Academy. Action steps are now in progress with respect to each goal. Progress will be monitored closely by the Administration Leadership Team and the Board of Trustees, with assistance from the Strategic Planning and Marketing Committees. Annually, the Board of Trustees will formally review and, when appropriate, amend, alter, or revise any of the Strategic Plan objectives set forth herein.

Following are: (i) the Mission Statement and Core Values of Ursuline Academy, (ii) a brief description of the Academy’s governance model, and (iii) the goals and objectives comprising the 2005-2010 Strategic Plan.

Mission Statement of Ursuline Academy
Adopted August 10, 2004

Ursuline Academy of Wilmington, Delaware

founded in 1893 by the Ursuline Sisters

is an independent,

Catholic, college preparatory school.

The mission of Ursuline Academy is

the development of the whole person

in a faith centered community

built on values of academic excellence,

respect and social consciousness.

Ursuline Academy empowers students for

leadership and service

in our global society.

CORE VALUES OF URSULINE ACADEMY

Academic Excellence

Emphasis on the Individual and the Whole Person

Women as Leaders

Family Spirit and Community

Service and Social Consciousness Curriculum integrated with Christian Values

Religious Education

Spirit of St. Angela Merici

Governance Model

Ursuline Academy has a two-tiered governance structure comparable to governance structures employed by other private, Catholic schools with a similar history. It differs from independent schools that have a self-perpetuating Board of Trustees and is subject not only to civil law but also to canon or church law.

Within the Ursuline Academy governance structure, the Ursuline Members have reserved powers to safeguard the mission and philosophy of an Ursuline education, the spirit of St. Angela Merici, foundress of the Ursulines, and to insure property decisions are made in accord with Church law. The reserved powers of the Members, which include the appointment of the President, are stated in the Academy’s Bylaws as amended and updated in 2002.

The second tier of the Ursuline Academy governance structure is the Board of Trustees which determines general policies and procedures, consistent with the school’s mission and needed for the school’s ongoing development. The Trustees supervise and control the fiscal matters of the operating Corporation. They specify the responsibilities of and evaluate the President of the school, and receive reports from the administration. The Members of the Corporation approve the candidate(s) for Principals of the divisions of the Academy submitted by the President, and approved by the Board of Trustees.

URSULINE ACADEMY
VISION FOR THE FUTURE
THE 2005-2010 STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

1. Identity and Structure of Ursuline Academy

Goal: Ursuline Academy will reaffirm its enduring commitment to its Catholic, Ursuline identity and, in an environment that nourishes this identity, will continue to provide a quality co-education experience for Pre-K through Third Grade students and single-sex education for Fourth Grade through Upper School students, and will effectually market and recruit accordingly.

Rationale: In keeping with its Mission Statement, Ursuline Academy seeks to strengthen the school’s Catholic and Ursuline identity that has been its hallmark for over 110 years. As noted in the Mission Statement, Ursuline Academy affirms its purpose of developing the whole person in the most effective learning environment and of maintaining the strong Ursuline tradition of education.

Objectives:

1. Designate an individual from Ursuline Academy whose role will be to lead the development and implementation of a plan to maintain and integrate the Academy’s Catholic identity and Ursuline Mission in all aspects of school life, with a focus on, among other things, the tradition and history of the Ursuline Order.

Checkpoint: The name and credentials of the designated person will be provided to the Board of Trustees by August 2005.

Owner: Lower School Principal, Director of Extended Day, and Middle School/Upper School Principal.

2. Appoint a committee to study and recommend the best Middle School grade grouping structure that provides an optimal environment for a holistic education program for girls, between Grades 4-12, to flourish.

Checkpoint: The Committee will propose alternatives to the Board of Trustees by January 2006.

Owner: Lower School Principal, Middle School /Upper School Principal, and Buildings and Grounds Committee Chair.

3. Develop a marketing and recruiting strategy that promotes the Catholic, Ursuline identity of the school, the Ursuline Mission Statement and Core Values, its academic programs, and the structure of the school (i.e., co-education experience for Pre-K through Third Grade students and single-sex education for Fourth Grade through Upper School students); and accordingly, oversee the redesign of the Academy’s marketing material, including, among other things, the school’s Internet website.

Checkpoint: Present marketing and recruiting plans to the Board of Trustees semi-annually.

Owner: Admissions Director, Lower School Principal, Middle School/Upper School Principal, and Marketing Committee.

2. Curriculum Enhancement (including technology)

Goal: Ursuline Academy will develop and implement a formal curriculum review and improvement process to ensure academic excellence and the continued integration and expression of the Core Values in the programs and life of the school.

Rationale: Ursuline Academy’s constellation of Core Values is what characterizes the school and supports its Mission and identity. They have been, and will continue to be, an integral part of the curriculum and life of the school.

Objectives:

1. Develop and implement a formal curriculum review and improvement process covering all departments of the school, including technology, and demonstrating a continuity of learning experiences throughout the various divisions. Wherever possible, the relationship between Core Values and the curriculum/co-curricular program and activities will be explicit and clearly identifiable.

Checkpoint: Annual reviews of curriculum upgrades will be presented to the Board of Trustees.

Owner: Lower School Principal and Middle/Upper School Principal, with assistance from the Technology Committee.

2. Charter a committee to review the current school year calendar with the objective to add additional teaching days and additional staff development days.

Checkpoint: An expanded school year calendar proposal will be presented to the Board of Trustees by January 2006 for implementation in the 2006/07 school year.

Owner: Lower School Principal, Director of Extended Day, Middle/Upper School Principal, and Facilities Manager.

3. Ursuline Academy will successfully be re-accredited through the Middle States Commission of Elementary and Secondary Schools. A self-study team of administrators and faculty will be organized by September 2005 and they will ensure that the Academy meets all of the standards and requirements of the Middle States Association in preparation for the visiting team.

Checkpoint: The Chair of the self-study team will report progress to the Board of Trustees at least three times per year.

Owner: Chair of self-study team and the Ursuline Academy Leadership Team

3. Recruitment, Retention, and Development of Faculty and Staff

Goal: Ursuline Academy will reaffirm its commitment to maintaining an outstanding faculty by introducing tailored professional development plans, which, combined with appropriate new hiring and timely gatherings of faculty in planning and professional development activities, will ensure that the Academy’s Mission and Core Values continue to be honored in practice.

Rationale: The faculty has daily, direct contact with the students. Their strong professional qualifications, coupled with a commitment to holistic development of students and to Ursuline Academy’s Core Values are essential to the success of the school’s Mission and the promotion of its unique identity.

Objectives:

1. Create tailored individual development plans and conduct annual performance reviews for each faculty and staff member.

Checkpoint: Review status annually with the Board of Trustees.

Owner: Lower School Principal, Director of Extended Day Program, and Middle/Upper School Principal, and Staff Managers.

2. Ensure opportunities for the faculty to meet together as a whole and in appropriate groupings in the ongoing communal pursuit of academic excellence and the continued integration and expression of the Core Values in the program and life of the school.

Checkpoint: Review status semi-annually with the Board of Trustees.

Owner: Lower School Principal, Director of Extended Day Program, and Middle/Upper School Principal.

3. Form a committee to research a possible just compensation system that involves performance-based rewards, tied to a set of pre-defined criteria.

Checkpoint: Present findings of the research to the Board of Trustees by January 2006.

Owner: Human Resources Manager, Lower School Principal, Director of Extended Day Program, Middle/Upper School Principal, and Finance Director with assistance from the Finance Committee.

4. Enrollment and Retention Management

Goal: Ursuline Academy will develop and implement enrollment and retention strategies to maintain an appropriate and diverse student body population that facilitates and fosters development of the individual, in a manner consistent with and guided by the Academy’s Mission Statement while maintaining small class sizes and the school’s focus on the individual student.

Rationale: A critical mass of students with a diversity of backgrounds contributes to the fulfillment of Ursuline Academy’s mission. Classes need to be both small enough and large enough to foster the development of the whole person, and to empower students for leadership and service to the global community.

Objectives:

1. Increase net enrollment 15 to 20 students per year until the target range of 725-750 is reached.

Checkpoint: Specific recruitment strategies, including transportation services, are to be reviewed by the Board of Trustees semi-annually.

Owner: Admissions Director, Lower School Principal, and Middle School/Upper School Principal with assistance from the Marketing Committee.

2. As part of the objective to increase net enrollment 15 to 20 students per year, develop plans to add, in the aggregate, five to fifteen boys to Pre-K through Third Grade during each of the next five years.

Checkpoint: The Board of Trustees will review specific plans and activities to achieve this objective semi-annually.

Owner: Admissions Director, Lower School Principal, and Director of the Extended Day Program with assistance from the Marketing Committee.

3. Continue to target small class size of approximately 16-18 students in the Lower School and 18-20 students in the Middle School/Upper School.

Checkpoint: Status will be reported annually to the Board of Trustees.

Owner: Lower School Principal, Director of the Extended Day Program, and Middle School / Upper School Principal.

4. Design and implement specific marketing efforts to increase enrollment through improved retention and new enrollments, and a growth in student diversity (e.g., race, gender, socioeconomic) while maintaining the school’s high admission standards and academic performance.

Checkpoint: Share plans and results of these marketing efforts semi-annually with the Board of Trustees.

Owner: Admissions Director, Lower School Principal, Director of the Extended Day Program, and Middle School / Upper School Principal with assistance from the Marketing Committee.

5. Financial Management

Goal: Ursuline Academy will develop an annual financial operating plan focused on supporting the overall Strategic Plan while containing overall costs, generating the cash flow to sustain routine operations and repay current debt, and making the Lower School (Pre-K through Sixth Grade) tuition more competitive.

Rationale: The financial health and accountability of Ursuline Academy are essential to the furtherance of its Mission and identity.

Objectives:

1. Develop alternative tuition strategies, including the appropriate use of scholarships and financial aid, that attempt to maintain annual tuition increases within the cost of living, segmented to make the Lower School tuition more competitive.

Checkpoint: Tuition strategies and a recommendation will be presented to the Board of Trustees each December.

Owner: Finance Director, and Finance Committee.

2. Pursue alternative sources of income and cost reductions with the 2005-06 goal of generating $250,000 of new cash flow. Subsequent year’s targets to be developed based on the evolving needs of the Academy.

Checkpoint: Proposals are to be presented to the Board of Trustees annually in March with a November update.

Owner: Finance Director, and Finance Committee.

3. Conduct an annual review of the Endowment Fund investments to ensure that funds are invested in a manner consistent with the Endowment Fund’s stated investment policy and are performing in accordance with the appropriate benchmarks.

Checkpoint: Results of the annual review are to be presented to the Board annually in November.

Owner: Finance Director, and Finance Committee

6. Academy Development and Advancement

Goal: Ursuline Academy will conduct development activities including, without limitation, a Capital Campaign, an Annual Giving Campaign, and other appropriate fund raising events to provide funding for planned facility improvements and acquisitions, additional scholarships, and to service the current debt as needed.

Rationale: Achievement of the Capital Campaign goal, and other development activities, are essential to providing renovations and repair of the physical plant, programs that meet the needs of the students, and an endowment that secures the future mission of Ursuline Academy.

Objective:

1. Develop and implement specific Capital Campaign plans to generate a total of $10 million over the next five years to support the facility and scholarship needs of the Academy.

Checkpoint: Review plans and status with the Board of Trustees quarterly.

Owner: Development Director, Development Committee, and Capital Campaign Committee with assistance from the Marketing Committee.

2. Conduct other development activities such as the Annual Giving Campaign and other fund raising events in support of the development of the Academy.

Checkpoint: Incorporate these plans as part of the annual financial operating plan.

Owner: Development Director and Development Committee.

7. Facilities Planning and Enhancement

Goal: Ursuline Academy will continue to improve and acquire facilities guided by the available funds generated through the Capital Campaign.

Rationale: Attractive, functional, up to-date, and well maintained facilities contribute to the creation of an atmosphere conducive to learning and provide an optimal setting for achievement of Ursuline Academy’s Mission and identity.

Objective:

1. Develop an ongoing facility planning process that identifies and prioritizes individual projects, with associated costs and benefits, in a way that meets the overall goals of the Academy’s five-year Strategic Plan.

2. Develop an annual maintenance program that puts a priority on Academy-wide order, appearance, and cleanliness, ensures high use and high visibility areas are in keeping with our purpose, is cost-effective and is included as part of the annual financial operating plan.